


Tub Tackle

by Ghoulboyboos



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Bathtubs, Bubble Bath, Established Relationship, Fluff, Jacuzzis, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 17:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16309421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghoulboyboos/pseuds/Ghoulboyboos
Summary: “Holyshit,Ryan!”Ryan almost drops his overnight bag at the sudden loud yelling from the hotel bathroom. Shane doesn’t sound like he’s in danger or injured, so Ryan rolls his eyes before he drops off his bag for real and walks over to poke his head through the bathroom door.Shane is beaming up at him from where he’s sitting: With his legs pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around them, fully clothed sans shoes in a relatively large, corner bath tub. Shane looks like a child on Christmas morning and Ryan thinks he looks absolutely ridiculous. Admittedly, it’s kind of cute, but Ryan won’t give him the satisfaction.“With the tubagain?!”Ryan sighs, overplaying his annoyance. “Are you serious?”He can’t quite keep the laugh in and Shane grins widely and slaps his hands on his knees.“Of course I’m serious, Ryan! It’s a Jacuzzi tub! And it’s huge! This is better than the one in the Bigfoot hotel! This is even better than the taco tub one!”---The boys relax in a bubble bath Jacuzzi. That's it. Lots of fluff and nothing really nsfw except people being naked to take a bath.





	Tub Tackle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MercurySkies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercurySkies/gifts).



> For Soph, who couldn't stop saying Tub Tackle for some reason after we talked about the disappointing broken Jacuzzi (Dauphine Orleans) and the
> 
> [Taco Tub](https://www.instagram.com/p/BQVS106l1qJ/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=ddsx1qebvkyi)
> 
> .

“Holy _shit,_ Ryan!”

 

Ryan almost drops his overnight bag at the sudden loud yelling from the hotel bathroom. Shane doesn’t sound like he’s in danger or injured, so Ryan rolls his eyes before he drops off his bag for real and walks over to poke his head through the bathroom door.

 

Shane is beaming up at him from where he’s sitting: With his legs pulled to his chest and his arms wrapped around them, fully clothed sans shoes in a relatively large, corner bath tub. Shane looks like a child on Christmas morning and Ryan thinks he looks absolutely ridiculous. Admittedly, it’s kind of cute, but Ryan won’t give him the satisfaction.

 

“With the tub _again?!”_ Ryan sighs, overplaying his annoyance. “Are you serious?”

He can’t quite keep the laugh in and Shane grins widely and slaps his hands on his knees.

“Of course I’m serious, Ryan! It’s a Jacuzzi tub! And it’s huge! This is better than the one in the Bigfoot hotel! This is even better than the taco tub one!”

“We won’t be able to get tacos this time,” Ryan remarks, determined to get Shane to stop grinning so stupidly wide. It doesn’t work. Shane just waves him off.

“I don’t need tacos to enjoy this tub! You do what you want, I’m gonna get naked and take a _bath!”_

He says bath with such a determination that Ryan  _almost_ misses the important thing.

“You’re gonna get naked with out me? That’s rude.”

“You’re cordially invited to join me in this heavenly spot, Ryan. I’ll even wash your back.”

 

And with that, Shane stands up and tears his shirts off. Ryan wants to protest; they are supposed to meet TJ and Devon and Mark for dinner, they still wanted to film a bit of material for the episode, they haven’t even unpacked, but Shane’s shirt hits him in the face and covers his head for a moment and by the time he has pulled it away, Shane has removed his t-shirt and belt and is unbuttoning his pants.  He’s still standing in the fucking tub and Ryan is torn between just shrugging and joining him or grabbing his phone and making a whole bit about it.  Before he can decide, Shane has removed his pants and socks and thrown them  aside before finally climbing out of the tub. He leans over to turn on the taps and Ryan watches as Shane adjusts the water until he’s happy with the temperature. He’s  bent over the tub in only his boxer briefs and Ryan gives Shane’s form an appreciative look. Sure, Shane is “sixteen feet tall and floppy”,  meaning he has a lanky shape and more leg than anyone needs. But he’s strangely beautiful like this. His skin is pale and dotted with freckles all over. His legs, despite their ridiculous length have a nice shape with slightly toned calves and his hands and feet are big. Shane stands up and runs a hand through his messy hair, long fingers untangling the strands and Ryan smiles. He steps forward and puts his  own  hand on Shane’s back, running his palm up the warm skin. Shane turns to him and smiles and Ryan can’t help but smile back. The stream of the water is rushing in the background and the room is slowly filling with warm  steam . Shane grins at Ryan and gives him a slight clap on the butt before he untangles himself and grabs the complimentary soaps,  pouring every single of them into the bathwater. Foam builds on the surface, only rising more when Shane turns on the jets.

 

Ryan worries for a while that the foam will raise over the edge  like an unobserved pot of pasta  and soak the entire bathroom, but Shane has clearly planned ahead, dousing down part of the foam with the  spray from the  showerhead. Then he gives Ryan a cheeky grin, wiggles out of his underwear and throws it aside before climbing into the tub. Once Shane settles in the water, his face falls into  a  complete relax ed expression . His eyes close, his jaw goes slack and he sinks so deep into the bathtub that only his head is visible. He looks like he sometimes does when they sleep on location and he is completely mummified in his sleeping bag. From underneath the foam, Shane lets out a long, relieved groan.

 

“Oh my God Ryan. I’m in heaven.”

Ryan laughs as he sees Shane peek over the mountains of soap bubbles.

“I am never leaving this place again, Ryan.”

That makes him laugh with a genuine wheeze, because he imagines the hotel staff trying to remove him from the room, only to be met with Shane’s defiance and his weird love for bathtubs. It’s also what gets Ryan to finally pull out his phone. Shane is so covered by the mountain of foam that it’s impossible to tell if he’s naked or fully clothed, so there is no issue with that and Ryan is sure that the fans are going to laugh their asses off. He shoots a quick video of Shane who eventually sticks a hand out of the foam, thumbs up like he’s the Terminator when he’s sinking into the lava.

Ryan adds a duck emoji because there is no rubber duck and a bathtub before he tags Shane and posts it to instagram.

It takes five seconds before the first “wtf” and screaming reactions pour in and  after he has seen the first “living the life” comment, he turns his phone to airplane mode before he tosses it aside and gets undressed as well.

 

When he climbs into the hot water and the jets hit his legs with bubbly pressure, Ryan can suddenly understand how Shane could just melt into the bath like that.  He lets out a sigh as he sinks into it,  as well , his legs entangling with Shane’s who is sitting to his left as if they are tucked into a corner booth. Ryan risks a glance over at Shane, across the mountains of foam and bursts into laughter when he sees Shane has used the distraction to put a foamy Santa beard  on his mouth and chin .

 

“You look like a fucking idiot!” Ryan wheezes and he sees Shane open his mouth to retort, only to get soap into his mouth and start spitting.

Ryan keeps laughing, despite watching Shane spray his spit over the bath being kind of disgusting and he doesn’t stop, not even when Shane moves over and digs his fingers in Ryan’s side, tickling the sensitive stretch of his  ribs while Ryan squirms and the water splashes around them.

They are both laughing now and Ryan pushes at Shane’s hands, both of them struggling a bit as they try to keep their balance in the slippery water  and at the same time somehow win the match . One of the jets is pushing into Ryan’s back and he takes a deep breath and allows himself to enjoy the pressure on his muscles a bit. He groans  and Shane stops .

“Truce?” He manages and Shane grins down at him, lowering himself into the water again.

“Alright,” he says, shifting. “Truce.”

Ryan opens his eyes halfway, the heat of the steaming water and the pulsing of the jets are making him feel relaxed and limp. Shane moves into his space until their hips are touching and Ryan doesn’t need the soft brush of a hand under his chin to tilt his head up and meet Shane in a kiss.

It’s wet and they both taste of soap, but they don’t really care. Ryan buries a hand in Shane’s still dry hair and Shane rubs his foot against Ryan’s calf as their tongues touch. Both of them hum into the kisses they share  and Shane’s hands settle against Ryan’s hips, moving out of the space of the bubbling jets before he carefully digs his fingers into the skin, not tickling this time. Ryan moves, arms around Shane’s shoulder by now as they  shuffle just a little deeper into the water . Ryan’s head rests against the edge of the tub, now pillowed by one of Shane’s hands as they keep kissing, hands sliding over wet skin  and everything kind of too slippery to hold onto one another. Still. Ryan can agree with Shane that it feels like heaven. It’s warm and bubbly, everything smells of whatever soap Shane has tossed in, the room is  bathed in a comfortable  light and Shane’s eyes are soft. His hair is damp by now, hanging a bit into his face and Ryan brushes it out of the way, grinning up at him.

 

Shane slowly drags his eyes over Ryan’s face and then laughs a soft, breathy laugh and Ryan catches him shaking his head ever so slightly.

“What?” He asks, nudging his chin forward in a challenging gesture.

Shane is still smiling, not grinning  this time. H is lips are closed and the corners of his eyes crinkle. He looks so happy that Ryan’s heart starts to beat faster and his face feels warm. It doesn’t feel like it’s the fault of the hot water.

“You’re beautiful, do you know that?”

Ryan scoffs a bit, almost frowning.

“Shut up.”  
“It’s true!” Shane looks stunned that he’s being called out. “You should see yourself. Your skin is glowing and your smile is so wide and bright and just...” He pulls a hand out of the water to make a general gesture at Ryan. “All of you. You’re fucking gorgeous. Don’t you know that?”

Ryan grabs his hand and puts his lips on the knuckles, brushing a kiss against wet skin. He doesn’t really know how to respond, but when he sees Shane break out into a wide smile, he feels reassured that he doesn’t have to. Instead, he pulls his boyfriend into another kiss. It tastes even more of soap now and the jets make it a bit hard to stay in the same spot,  bubbles tickling against skin, but finally they settle in an embrace where they can comfortably make out and each enjoy an equal amount of bubbles. It’s a situation they can easily get lost in, which is probably why both of them – but especially Ryan – jump harshly when the bathroom door is pushed open.

 

“You guys weren’t answering your phones are you oka- Oh come on!”

TJ  steps into the bathroom and almost instantly does an 180 and turns around again, facing the door. Shane’s face is frozen in a comical “Oops” position, but his arms are still around Ryan while Ryan is slowly sinking into the water, noticing that a great deal of the foam is gone by now.

“I swear to god at least send us a message that you’re busy getting it on in a tub instead of letting me walk into this shit.”

“We weren’t getting it on TJ, shut your mouth!” Ryan calls out, nearly choking on the foam because he has slipped so deep that his chin is touching the water. Of course, it doesn’t come across very intimidating while he’s crouching in a huge tub of soap water and TJ looks across his shoulder at them. An idea flickers over his eyes and Ryan barely manages to dive under the water completely before TJ has his phone out and pointed at them.

It’s a bad idea. The water stings in Ryan’s eyes and nose, despite him holding both shut and the jets and bubbles are so loud now that he doesn’t understand anything that happens above. He feels Shane shift next to him and eventually, a hand closes around his wrist and tugs him upwards. Ryan gives in. He bursts through the water and shakes his head, half of his chest out of the water as he puffs and snorts, trying to get the soap out of his mouth and nose.  Ryan slams into Shane’s shoulder and grabs onto him so he doesn’t fall over and he can hear that  TJ is laughing when the pressure in his ears lets up. Ryan manages to open one eye to shoot him a glare. TJ is still filming, that bastard and Ryan flips him off while he uses his other arm to rub at his eyes.

Next to him, Shane is giggling a bit, before he reaches out and cups Ryan’s face in his hands, wiping the water away with his thumbs.

 

“Ugh. Gross. Keep it for the honeymoon.” TJ comments from afar and Shane grabs the next best thing in reach – one of the empty bubble bath bottles – and chucks it at their colleague, who quickly vacates the bathroom, laughing so loud that it echoes in the tiled room.

“You okay?” Shane sounds like he’s been laughing for minutes now and Ryan pushes his soaked hair back to look up at him. They are both flushed now and Shane looks arguably stunning in the slight steam that rises from the water and his body. His hair sticks up in all directions, which makes Ryan smile and he shakes his head a little, unable to snap at anyone about the incident. He probably still looks a bit grumpy, though, when he finally answers.

“He won’t post it on instagram. HR is gonna come after him when he does.”

“I hope so.” Shane snorts. “Otherwise people will wonder what you’ve been doing underwater next to my hip.”  
Ryan freezes, eyes widening.

“Oh shit.”  
“Yeah.”  
Ryan is mortified but when he meets Shane’s eyes, he can’t help it. He bursts into laughter, Shane closely following behind as they both giggle.

“Oh wow, this is so stupid.” Ryan says fondly and Shane giggles as he leans against him.

“Sure is.” He gives Ryan another one of those _looks,_ the soft and warm ones that make Ryan’s stomach  flutter. “Come on, little guy. I’ll wash your hair.”

 

-

 

Ryan sighs as Shane’s fingers massage his scalp, rubbing shampoo into his hair and  carefully brushing against the  sensitive spots on his head and behind his ears. He doesn’t complain as Shane’s hands wander to his shoulders and knead at the tense muscles there.  
“I’m pretty sure all I can do after this bath is  _sleep.”_ He mutters with emphasis and Shane’s laugh brushes cooling air over his shoulder.

“Fair enough. I’m kind of exhausted too.” He pauses to grab the showerhead and rinse off Ryan’s hair, carefully holding his hand against Ryan’s brow to keep the soap from running over his eyes and mouth. Then, Shane crosses his arms to put them on the edge of the tub before pillowing his head on them. Ryan has insisted on him doing that, since he can’t very well wash the big guy’s hair when he’s sitting behind him. Not with their height difference. When Shane’s hair is lathered with soap and Ryan has had enough of softly running his nails over Shane’s scalp and watching his boyfriend shudder, they both drain the tub, rinse off and wrap themselves in the fluffy towels the hotel provided.

 

Ryan picks up his phone and sees that TJ sent him a series of messages, first the  repeated questions where they are and why they aren’t joining them for dinner. Then, however,  as  Ryan scrolls dow n, he is greeted with a middle finger emoji and  the message reading “I hope you both drown!”

Finally, there is a link to an instagram post and Ryan  taps it with concern. It’s a relatively short, clip ped version of what must have been a longer video. This one doesn’t show him  dive and stay  under  the water, luckily. However, it shows Shane who is looking up at the camera, half a second before Ryan bursts through the still foamy surface of the bath water, sputtering like an idiot.

TJ has tagged them both and put a shark emoji in the bottom right corner,  right under where Ryan shoots up . The thread is full of confused but amused reactions, dirty comments  about the boys in the same tub and  several jabs at Ryan  for being afraid of sharks and yet doing a shitty impression of  one .

Going by Shane’s wheeze across the room, the other ghouligan has seen it as well.

 

“At least your modesty was protected by the foam.” He comments between giggles and Ryan decides he is going to murder TJ and maybe Shane, too.

“Look at that!” Shane points at one of the comments and laughs even more. “This user just fucking wrote “Tub Tackle”, that’s genius!”

“That’s not genius.” Ryan frowns. “That sounds dumb and dangerous.”

“Come on, Ryan.” Shane shoots him an amused smile over his phone. “Don’t tell me you’re not all relaxed and refreshed now. The ghouls won’t know what hit them tomorrow.”

Ryan rolls his eyes, but he feels a little less like murdering people when Shane sneaks an arm around his middle and pulls him close. They settle on the double bed together, still warm from the bath and smelling of like three different bubble baths and Ryan has to admit that this is enjoyable, especially when Shane is peppering his face with kisses like that.

 

“Maybe I like the idea of having a big bathtub now,” he admits, grinning as he turns Shane’s face to kiss him properly.

“Yeah?” Shane pulls back and grins. “Did I get you on the side of the Tub Troop?”

“Tub Troop.” Ryan repeats unimpressed. “Sure. Whatever. But I’m serious.”

“Hmmm.” Shane smiles as he lies down next to him and props his head on his hand, elbow digging into the mattress. “So do you want to book better hotels from now on? No shitty tourist traps anymore?”

“That was one time. I thought it was funny.”

“It was a heartbreak.”

Ryan rolls his eyes.

“You know what, forget about it.” He tugs the towel around himself and is about to roll on his side, back to Shane.

“No, come on.” Shane softly grabs his wrist and turns him back. The teasing grin has slipped away and he looks suddenly a lot younger in the warm light of the bedside lamp with his hair still slightly damp and his skin glowing. “What did you want to say?”

 

“Well.” Ryan shrugs. “I figured, maybe we could start looking for a place that has a nice tub. Together, I mean. We would have more space and wouldn’t have to keep two leases. And we could maybe afford something slightly nicer than each of our places. Don’t you think?”

Shane blinks, eyes wide and surprised.

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Yeah?” Ryan shrugs, trying to be nonchalant. “I mean, I figured we would… eventually?”  
Shane is starting to smile, wide and happy and he leans over Ryan, braces himself on his shoulder and kisses him hard. Ryan huffs a laugh into the kiss and runs his hands up Shane’s naked back.

“I think.” Shane muses dramatically as he pulls away. “For a nice bathtub, I’m prepared to make that sacrifice of waking up next to your jock ass every morning when you prepare to go out for your dumb runs.”

Ryan rolls his eyes. “Well, for my part, I’m ready to endure your snoring if it means I get a nice bathtub.”

“I do not _snore.”_

“Oh yes you do.”

They both laugh again, Shane pulling Ryan into a tighter hug as they roll on their sides and put their heads on the pillows.

“Alright.” Shane says, not mocking anymore. He sounds honest and happy. “I want to go and look for a place with you.”

Ryan breaks into a grin. “Okay. Great.”

Shane leans in and they share another kiss. Ryan thinks for a moment as they part and then states.

“I think I’m still gonna kill TJ.”

Shane laughs.

“It’s not like that will somehow undo the Tub Tackle.”  
“Stop calling it Tub Tackle! I didn’t even tackle you!”

“It was a Tub Tackle, baby!”

“It doesn’t even sound like a word anymore, Shane. Please, for the love of God-”

“Tub Tackle!”

“Okay, that’s enough.”

 

Ryan grabs at Shane who yelps and tries to escape while Ryan reaches for the pillows and struggles to get a good angle to whack his stupid boyfriend with them. Before he can get a hit in, their fight turns into a wrestling match and after a ridiculously short time, Ryan has pinned Shane to the bed, hands over his head until Shane begs for mercy just the way Ryan likes it.

 

T hey start giggling again, Ryan’s face buried against Shane’s neck until TJ slams a hand against the door and tells them to shut up, claiming that they have scarred him enough for one weekend.

Ryan sticks out his tongue at the door, despite TJ being unable to see them and settles down next to Shane in the scent of soaps and fresh sheets and his boyfriend who has started to yawn and stretch like a cat before he wraps his endless limbs around Ryan and pulls him closer.

 

Ryan has almost dozed off when Shane’s lips brush his ear.

“It _was_ a Tub Tackle.”

 

Ryan will have to murder him after all.


End file.
